Today's recruits are tomorrow's veterans who will face an evolving society.

Editor's note: We are approaching two 10-year anniversaries. Sept. 11 we all remember. But Oct. 7 we seem to have forgotten. It marks 10 years of war: first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq – longer than any time in U.S. history. More than 6,200 dead. More than 45,000 wounded. Over four Sundays, the Orange County Register will tell the story of the more than 2 million troops who've fought in these wars. As we commemorate the anniversaries of Sept. 11 and Oct. 7, let us, as a nation, seek to understand the sacrifices made as a result of them.

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Two hours before dawn, nearly three dozen students are running up and down the concrete stands at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium, grey shirts stenciled with ARMY soaked in sweat. As the sun comes up and the smoggy August heat rises, the cadets pour water over their heads. A few stop to lean over the railing and vomit their breakfast on the running track.

“Are you done?” cadet David Downey shouts at two fellow cadets who have slowed. It’s not quite a drill instructor bark, but he’s loud and pointed enough to get everyone’s attention.

“If you’re not done, let’s go, back up.”

The two swivel and pump their legs back to the top of the stands.

Downey, 21, a senior from Redlands, is captain of the Ranger Challenge team. The steps are just training to replicate the physical stress and teamwork of the Rangers, the Army’s elite fighting force.

But Downey knows he’s preparing himself and the other for something more.

“I just think the greatest honor an American can have is to lead soldiers into battle,” he says.

Downey may well get that honor. Operations in Afghanistan will go on at least through 2014. And units are expected to serve as advisors in Afghanistan and Iraq long after that.

Still, whether Downey goes to battle or not, his enthusiasm and commitment speak volumes about America’s short-term military future. Though our military has been exhausted and depleted by 10 years of constant deployments, many draft-age people seem as willing to fight and die for America as their older brothers and sisters were 10 years ago today.

A key is officer training.

The United States Military Academy supplies 20 percent of those who will wear the gold bar of a second lieutenant. But ROTC programs like the one at Fullerton are the linchpin in the system. They supply three times the number of officers compared to West Point - 65 percent. The rest are enlisted soldiers promoted through the Officer Candidate School.

The 272 ROTC programs across the country created 5,400 new officers last year. Fullerton has sent 178 cadets into the Army officer corps since 9/11, with 31 deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan. One, Capt. Jacob Gonzalez, received the Bronze Star for valor in combat. None have been killed in action.

Downey could be among the next to go. He would be a second lieutenant with his unit by early 2013 – a year before combat operations are planned to end in Afghanistan. He’d like to join a unit like the 101st Airborne Division.

“I’ll go where my country needs me to go,” Downey said. “If it’s the 101st, then, yes, you could say I am trying to deploy.”

Not everyone who qualifies to become an officer will end up in what’s generally called “combat arms.” Cadets have to score in the top 15 percent of the class to assure themselves a spot in infantry or aviation units. The rest of the students who qualify for active duty – which usually requires a 3.0 grade point average – will fill out the logistics, signal, military police and other units. Some of the top scoring students choose another path anyway.

“I’m split between armor and being a chaplain,” said Rob Golding, 22 of Huntington Beach. He’s the unit’s top leader, the cadet lieutenant colonel, the highest ranking student soldier-in-training.

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Members from the Cal State Fullerton ROTC unit run the stairs at Titan Stadium during a recent two-hour morning workout. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A very determined Michael Haubenschild of Mission Viejo heads for the top of the stairs at Titan Stadium during a two-hour workout with his Army ROTC Titan Battalion. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
David Downey, team captain for the Ranger Challenge competition, charges up the stairs at Titan Stadium during a pre-dawn workout with this Army ROTC Titan Battalion at Cal State Fullerton. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
David Downey, left, member of the Cal State Fullerton ROTC, leads the way through physical training on the school's stadium steps. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Don Kidwell cools down between sessions of an ROTC exercise in Titan Stadium at Cal State Fullerton. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Maggie Sanchez battles fatigue as she climbs the stairs at Titan Stadium during a recent ROTC exercise session. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The two hours of running stairs proves to be too much for Michael Haubenschild from Mission Viejo, who loses his breakfast over the rail. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Joshua Bradley stretches with his fellow ROTC comrades in Titan Stadium at Cal State Fullerton. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ROTC cadets mix with fellow students on campus. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Army ROTC Titan Battalion cadet Justin Suk listens to a briefing from Lt. Col. Jonathan Nepute, of Anaheim, commander of the CSUF ROTC program. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The patch representing the Army ROTC Titan Battalion is displayed on the uniform of cadet Lauren DeShay. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Lt. Col. Jonathan Nepute, Anaheim, commander of the CSUF ROTC program, gives his battalion its first briefing of the new school year. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ROTC cadets mix with fellow students on campus. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cadet James Loxsom, 21, center, from Irvine, is a senior at Cal State Fullerton. He said he decided to go into the service on 9/11, when he was 11 years old. On his right is fellow cadet, 1st Lt. Robert Ruiz, 28, of Whittier, and cadet Capt. Lizzett Belmonte, 21, from Delhi, Calif., is on his right. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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